DVD

No Trophies For Fallout 3

dvd — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:43:00 +0000

PS3 owners craving the virtual self-esteem pills known as "Trophies" will be disheartened to learn that Fallout 3 won't have any. At least not at launch, anyway. But, but, how will we know when to feel a sense of accomplishment if The Machine won't tell us?

Bethesda VP of Marketing Pete Hines told PlaystationUniverse that while the game won't ship with Trophy support, they haven't ruled out including them in a patch. "It remains to be seen what we do down the road. It wasn't something we were able to incorporate into the game for launch."

Unfortunately, Trophies aren't retroactively awarded so you don't get credit for what you do in a game before Trophy support is added. Maybe the Fallout 3 Trophies will arrive in time for a second play-through, eh? Either way, I'm pretty sure you'll feel proud of yourself for covertly planting a live grenade in the pocket of another character even if you don't get a Trophy for it.

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PS3 Headset Confirmed For America

dvd — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:28:45 +0000

You may have heard the news about a PS3 Bluetooth headset being released in Japan. Sony has revealed that we'll be getting that little gadget here in the States in the Fall and it'll be bundled with an upcoming game.

Anand Agarwal, Product Manager for PlayStation Peripherals, gave a run-down on the headset on Playstation.Blog on Wednesday. The Bluetooth headset will cost $50 by itself but for $60 you can buy the headset and tactical military shooter SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation. Confrontation is due on stores on October 14th; it's not immediately clear if the standalone headset will be available by then but the bundle is by far the better deal if you have even the slightest interest in shooters. I mean you're essentially getting the game for 10 bucks with that bundle. Or you're getting the game for sixty bucks and the bluetooth for free - either way you look at it, it's a pretty good deal.

The headset will work with Bluetooth-capable cell phones but it has a lot of features specific to the PS3. These features will be enabled by a PS3 firmware update in the Fall. Your headset's connection status, battery level, mute status, and volume will be displayed on screen while you play PS3 games. You'll be able to use the headset to issue voice commands to A.I. teammates in SOCOM and your character will mimic you as you speak. When the headset is low on power, or you just don't feel like wearing it, plugging it into the USB cradle charger will allow it to function like a desktop microphone.

Agarwal mentions in passing that the "Voice Command" and "Voice Animation" features will be available on "select" PS3 games but only Confrontation is mentioned in this announcement. Given how cheap the headset is with the bundle, though, it's not like you've wasted much money if Confrontation is the only game you end up using it with.

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Guillermo Del Toro Doesn’t Have Time For You

dvd — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:19:07 +0000

I have no idea where I will live in five years, or even what I'm eating for dinner tonight, but Guillermo del Toro is booked solid through 2017. Variety has a piece today summing up the huge amount of projects del Toro has committed himself to do over the last few months, despite the fact that The Hobbit alone will probably take up the next five years.

The latest to be officially added to the pile is actually tree movies at Universal-- del Toro is planning to direct remakes of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and, to throw a curveball, Slaughterhouse Five. Del Toro also talked about his commitment to each of these movies, saying that Frankenstein would have to be pulled from his cold, dead hands before he would slouch on directing it: ""To me, Frankenstein represents the essential human question: Why did my creator throw me here, unprotected, unguided, unaided and lost? "

And for Slaughterhouse Five, which was adapted for the screen in 1972, del Toro said, "There are ways that Vonnegut plays with and juxtaposes time that was perhaps too edgy to be tackled on film at that time."

While I remain skeptical that del Toro will eventually direct everything he's picking up at the moment, it is exciting to think that, nearing the end of the next decade, we'll have witnessed so many potential masterpieces (or, let's be realistic, flops) from such a creative and energetic director. It's strangely rare for a director to forge ahead with newfound career success at such a breakneck pace, but if del Toro can keep the energy up, what he creates is bound to be worth watching.

Dan Aykroyd Talks Possibilities For Ghostbusters 3

dvd — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:05:13 +0000

Dan Aykroyd is an icon of my childhood. Dan Akyroyd is a respected actor. Nowhere in this world does Dan Aykroyd deserve to be a tequila spokesman, particularly one reduced to wearing a lime green T-shirt bearing the logo of Patron tequila.

But so it goes when you make your career in acting and can forever after make a mint just by showing up and holding a product. Aykroyd was in Toronto last week promoting his own wines as well as Patron, and the Canadian version of E! Online caught up with him and actually managed to make him rap.

They also forced out of him a smidgen of talk about Ghostbusters 3, and seem to have asked him point-blank what he would think about Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen having a hand in the third movie. Aykroyd, ever the diplomat, responds "If I could interest Seth and Judd to be a part of it, that would be a dream." He probably would have said the same thing if the interviewer had suggested a shot-by-shot remake, recasting Dane Cook and Jessica Alba in the Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver roles. I mean, why burn bridges?

Aykroyd also said there are screenwriters working on a script for the third movie, which we pretty much already knew. Call me a non-believer, but that's one script I really hope never sees the light of day. Well, unless they let Dan Aykroyd wear his lime green tequila shirt in the new movie. Check out the very short video below and hear Aykroyd's thoughts.

Go Behind The Scenes Of Transformers 2

dvd — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:55:28 +0000

Do you need a little Bay-os? How about some Bay-hem? Those are actual phrases tossed around on the set of Transformers 2, and you can get a look at what Michael Bay's special brand of chaos looks like thanks to the behind-the-scenes video available through the new DVD release of Transformers. Here's how it's supposed to work: You buy one of the three new DVDs, which have fancy stuff that makes them worth $40 or something insane. You enter the code from your DVD package here, and gain access to special videos, which will update every week.

Or, you can use the code provided by ComingSoon.net and avoid the trip to Wal-Mart. Either way, you'll get access to pretty standard behind-the-scenes footage, as well as the revelation that Michael Bay had special shoes made for him by Nike. It's information I'm sure you were dying to know, but hey, if you're a devoted Transformers fan and can figure out what the hell is going on in the scenes they're shooting, go for it. It'll at least keep you company while you wait for Transformers 2 to get released.

Red Band Zack And Miri Make A Porno Trailer

dvd — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:25:55 +0000

The first official, MPAA approved trailer for Kevin Smith?s new movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno is here? and it?s appropriately red banded. This is a movie about making porn after all, adult content comes with the territory. But this trailer isn?t just an excuse to use the word ?cock? or to let Justin Long talk about filming gay porno, it?s also hilarious.

The title really says it all. Zack and Miri Make a Porno stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as two best friends trying to earn some cash by shooting amateur porn. If that isn?t enough to get you interested, I don?t know what will.

Zack and Miri hits theaters October 31st. If you?re over 18, watch the first redband trailer for Zack and Miri Make a Porno below. If you?re under 18, you probably have no business watching Kevin Smith movies, let alone Kevin Smith trailers.

WATCH IT IN HIGH-RES!

New Kids Slam Backstreet

dvd — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:11:57 +0000

This was just too hilarious to pass up. It seems there is boy band beef between NKTOB and Backstreet.

Supposedly, Backstreet laid down some smack talk in earlier interviews saying, if the New Kids had any talent, they?d still be around. Well, as one can only imagine, the grown ups of New Kids haven?t taken that lying down. Member, Danny Wood told sources at Starpulse.com that, quote, ?Backstreet's records sound the same as before - their music didn't evolve like ours has.? He added, ?They should've probably kept their mouths shut!?

?Tis true that my beloved Backstreet have had their share of disappointments in the past five years or so with their on-again, off-again relationship with the music industry. But, any band from that era is going to have to cede to the flux and flow of the pop scene, no matter who they are.

Now, as much as I?d love to be subjective on this?because as we all know, subjectivity is my strong suit?I just had to say something. This goes out to the NKOTB, more of an acronym than an actual band name: grow the fuck up! I mean, come on! You wait 15 years to make your so-called, ?glorious? comeback and you think that you?re music has grown past the bubblegum fodder of your heyday? Let?s be real!

The last song that I heard from you sounded like a crew of middle-aged men talking about scantily clad teenage females that you were trying so hard to holla at in their ?tank top[s] and [their] flip-flops.? Sounds pretty much the same as ?Please Don?t Go, Girl?, only a bit creepier since Joey Mac lost the baby fat and J-Knight had a rather embarrassing stint on The Surreal Life.

I mean if we are to speak realistically, in this here real world of reality, neither one of these bands has a cool shot in hell of reclaiming any of their former glory. (Sorry, Backstreet. You?ll always be my favorite.) It?s almost laughable that Danny Wood (whom I don?t even remember as a New Kid in the first place) would decide he was going to lay a comeback call-out to a band that, honestly, is exactly the same as they are. I guess time will only tell which one of these bubblegum band juggernauts will actually get served

Just to put it out there, I?ll always put my money on Backstreet, I don?t care what anyone says!

Preview: Fallout 3

dvd — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:57:41 +0000

Title: Fallout 3
Players: 1
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Developer: Bethesda
Publisher: Bethesda
Price: $59.99
Release Date: Oct. 28th, 2008
Website:www.Fallout.Bethsoft.com

Fallout series turned into a free-roaming, action-RPG; that?s exactly what Fallout 3 is. First or third-person view, a detailed create a character and more weapons at your disposal than a Rambo movie all make up for Bethesda?s highly anticipated sequel.

Some games are hyped up for the sake sales, other games receive the hype because the gamers just can?t get enough of it. Fallout 3 is the kind of game that falls into the second category; where the history of the series speaks for this upcoming game?s current popularity. And just like previous games in the series, the story centers around a player-created character, with the interactive world unfolding around the custom avatar. Players will modify seven aptitudes and start by choose up to three special Tag Skills out of a total of 14 characteristics. Most of these skills are often helpful in a number ways, while other traits prove to be comically morbid or grotesquely entertaining with the results they produce. For instance, a long-standing skill trait in the Fallout series has been ?bloody mess?. This skill trait enables the common occurrence of player enemies to die in gory, unsightly ways.

Of course, players will need a good assortment of weapons and firearms to dispose of enemies. And given that this game is heavily saturated with RPG qualities, it means that there are all sorts of weapons that can be found, built and modified. Weapons, however, will wear out over time...losing both effectiveness and accuracy. Thus, players will be required to repair or combine them to make better use of their worn out arsenal.

During combat the game makes use of the Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System, or better known as VATS. This system will pause real-time combat to give players statistical data necessary for making proper attack choices, and likewise, adding a turn-based element to the real-time combat. While some people might think of this as a dated feature, or similar to bringing parachute pants into the new millennia, the turn-based combat adds an extra layer of depth to the game that some strategist might like. But with all this talk of combat and blowing stuff up I almost forgot that the game actually has more to it than just blood, guts and bullets. Players can effectively maintain progression through the game via a character that excels in communication, diplomacy and computer hacking skills. The broad range of how the game can be played is left up entirely to the player. Based on the player?s actions and choices determine how the player is rewarded or punished, which in turn will determine how the world will unfold for the player. This prompts for multiple play-throughs and lots of exploratory travel. Even with 100+ hours of gameplay it seems as if replay value is still a top priority function on Bethesda?s developmental check list.

In addition to all the previously mentioned features, this game also sports a team-party for up to three people (i.e., two of those spaces will automatically be occupied by the player-character and their canine companion, Dogmeat.) Players can designate their fellow companions to carry out specific tasks, such as having Dogmeat to scout for ammo, health or equipment. And while the NPC that accompanies players can be killed and/or replaced, Dogmeat cannot come back once it dies.

This game is packed full of features and has a very loyal following. I?m just hoping the overall experience will follow through with the legacy of the acclaimed series. Anyway, be sure to stay tuned in with Blend Games for more info and news regarding Fallout 3, which is due out this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

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Editorial: Mature Content Needs Filters

dvd — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:42:00 +0000

It's no surprise that some of the biggest, most popular games in recent history have been given the 'M' rating. More violence, more sexual material and edgier content have been used to controversially sell many games for home consoles and PC. There's nothing wrong with adult-themed material, and in some cases it can actually help a game tell the story it's trying to sell. But at the same time this "mature" rated content sometimes prevents the game from being anywhere near as accessible as it should be.

Often the games with the 'M' rating are purely meant for a mature crowd, with the exception of some titles such as the Halo games or maybe Assassin's Creed. Where the overall content could almost sway toward the ?Teen? rating. However, for anyone who has played Grand Theft Auto IV, Kane & Lynch, or No More Heroes (to name a few), you may have noticed that while they might be fun to play, you would probably have to mute the TV or pause the game often if you had certain kinds of company over, or any minors in the room. Yes, there is always the option to simply not play 'M' rated games while company is over, or while your kids are around, or when you feel uncomfortable playing certain games with certain viewers present. However, there is an alternative that has long been forgotten in the rush to meet deadlines and conserve the budget, it's called content filters.

Back in the mid and late 1990's many games for PC and console had adult content filters for anything rated 'Teen' on up. Acclaim was especially vigilant on keeping even common bad-words from being heard or blood from being seen with their content control in games like WWF Attitude or ECW Hardcore Revolution. 3D Realms, Epic Games, Monolith Software, and even SNK allowed for some forms of filtering adult content. So even if you were playing Duke Nukem 3D, strolling casually through the strip club, you could simply activate the parental controls and you didn't have to worry about your wife walking into the room and getting angry about seeing topless dancers on the screen.

Now some of you might already be saying "The ESRB has already taken care of this!" But let's not forget that there's a difference between content restriction and a content filter. While just about all commercial games come with an ESRB rating to which the user can administer control over what type of games and movies can be played and viewed, it still lacks a lot of depth when it comes to actually controlling the kinds of content a viewer is exposed to. Yes, 'M' rated games can easily be banned on newer consoles and PC stations, but the problem is the content itself. For example, I went to visit a friend at his house and he had his daughter and some of his relatives with him. I wanted to bring over GTA: San Andreas so that we could run around in the two-player mode, but given that there was no way to filter out the language the game would have been on mute the entire time. I scrolled through my collection of games and realized most of them were inappropriate for younger audiences or simply had no way to shield such audiences from the content contained within them. The only game in my stockpile that actually had a language and a gore filter was Unreal Championship. What?s worse is that the only kid-friendly action game I had on hand was Monster Madness. Similar problems arose with games such as The Warriors, Scarface: The World is Yours and Far Cry. It was morbidly disappointing that the most fun games to play were the most malapropos for the occasion, just because young-lings were present.

I know many developers are on a tight schedule to get the game finished, and they're even further pressed to make sure the game works right. Although, it would seem like it might be in the better interest of most publishers to possibly re-release certain games with the aforementioned content filters in place. Such filters might even appeal to consumers who would otherwise not even have bothered to purchase the game because of said content. On the positive side, though, Epic has at least chosen to add such content filters for both language and gore, in their upcoming title Gears of War 2. For many other upcoming titles it seems like it's a long shot for such filtering options. And even though many games are a lot more fun today then many of the ones from a decade ago -- especially with the multiplayer options and variety of gameplay mechanics -- it makes it tough to appreciate the sometimes fascinating, unique and fun games when you can't play them around the people you sometimes hang around, or the people who sometimes hang around you.

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Baby Mama - 9/9/2008

dvd — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:34:39 +0000

Ah, the infant: cinema's biological cure-all. Give a movie a messed up couple with a mountain of problems, or a young woman working on several self-esteem issues, and watch as reproduction works its zygote-induced magic. From She's Having a Baby to Parenthood, Juno to Knocked Up, pregnancy and all the surrounding hormonal hoopla supposedly symbolizes life celebrating itself. In the new Tina Fey comedy Baby Mama, it's just a manipulative means to a grossly unfunny end.

Super career-woman Kate Holbrook (Fey) has it all -- the ear of her wingnut organic foods tycoon Barry (Steve Martin), a cushy vice-presidency, and a fab-o apartment in Philadelphia. All she lacks is a genetic duplicate of her own professional perfection. Sadly, her internal lady parts can't supply a womb with a view. After trying every available procedure, she resorts to hiring a surrogate. After some bun in the oven bartering with baby broker Chaffee Bicknell (Sigourney Weaver), Holbrook meets Angie Ostrowiski (Amy Poehler), a working class gal with a white trash persona and a heart as large as a Big Gulp. When things go awry in her relationship, she moves in with Holbrook. Middling hijinx ensue.

Baby Mama lives up to at least half of its title. It's a whiny, juvenile mess. It soils itself regularly and can't fend for itself, especially among the more sophisticated sophmoronics of the Apatow gang. It does a disservice to its competent cast, argues for clichés instead of creativity, and misunderstands the very basics of what drives a big screen comedy. Let's face it -- this is the kind of movie that still believes Steve Martin is funny. Yet all Mr. Once Was Wild and Crazy is doing is channeling Hank Scorpio from The Simpsons. Under the first-time directorial flop sweat of writer Michael McCullers (the co-writing mind behind the overrated Austin Powers films), Fey and Poehler are locked in a battle of competing patchiness. Neither one elevates their game to anything remotely resembling humor.

Even worse, the plot plods around aimlessly, looking for ways to capitalize on pop culture shout-outs (Video games! Hip-hop lingo!) and old-school stereotypes. Fey is viewed as the uptight intellectual unable to conceive because she's out of touch with her inner breeding goddess. Poehler is supposed to be smart enough to carry on a conversation, but also trapped in a Jerry Springer meets Judge Judy style of sloppy social fertility. Together, they find the kind of common ground only a screenplay provides, and both learn the value of being full of fetus and darn proud of it.

Yet the biggest sin Baby Mama commits is being incessantly dull. McCullers' style could best be described as the setup for a punchline that never comes. He gives his actors room to breathe, and they consistently choke. Martin's New Age Zen zaniness grows tired quickly, and Fey can only move between nurturing and neurotic. Of everyone involved (including a completely underwritten Greg Kinnear as Fey's wuss in shining armor), only Poelher pulls off the material. She makes Angie semi-tolerable, redefining the dimwitted doofus for today's PC-oriented demo.

When Diane Keaton's Baby Boom looks like Monsieur Hulot's Holiday by comparison and you can't surpass My Baby's Daddy in the wit department, you need to start thinking about adopting some true talent. Baby Mama blows its chance to be a fiery, feminized take on what has traditionally been an idyllic view of motherhood. Instead, we end up with a diaper overflowing with formula, uninteresting drudgery dotted with as much pabulum as pandering.

Think they'll take me back on SNL?